Banks: Regulation

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 7 June 2011, Official Report, columns 217-8W, on banks: regulation, what options for further action he has considered in relation to banks that fail to meet lending targets as set out by Project Merlin.

Mark Prisk: As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has made clear before the Commons Liaison Committee on 17 May, and as the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend, the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable) said again before the BIS Select Committee on 8 June, the first step should be to try to make Project Merlin work in the way that was intended. Although these are early days, we want to see significant improvement over the next few months. We will monitor the banks' performance extremely closely and, in particular, look at the issue of discouraged demand.
	If the banks fail to meet their side of the agreement we reserve the right to revisit our side of the agreement, including with regard to new levies on profits and bonuses.
	In the meantime, we will continue to put pressure on the banks to improve relationships with their small business customers starting with exploring options to push for greater transparency on how they assess and price risks.
	I have also written to the banks to ask them to outline precisely how the incentives for their senior managers are linked to small and medium enterprise lending.

Business: Industrial Health and Safety

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the merits of (a) requiring low-risk and high-risk business to meet different levels of health and safety regulation and (b) tailoring legislation and enforcement to the risk level of the work place; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: Businesses in the same sector and often of similar sizes are normally subject to the same baseline standards of regulation regardless of the risk they might pose. This is because most regulatory requirements are of general application, which means that they apply to their addressees equally. This is necessary to ensure consistency and a level-playing field across the regulatory landscape.
	However, while similar businesses may be required to meet the same levels of regulation, the enforcement of the regulation may, and should, be varied according to risk. The Regulators' Compliance Code (issued under the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006) gives statutory effect to these principles. The Code requires regulators to ensure that all aspects of their regulatory activity are informed by risk.
	The Government agrees that legislation and enforcement should reflect levels of risk and how well these are controlled. To that end, we have commissioned an independent review of health and safety legislation, led by Professor Lofstedt. We plan to reform Britain's health and safety system and ensure we reduce unnecessary burdens on business while maintaining standards of protection.
	The following support the drive to reduce burdens:
	In March 2010, the Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), announced that leading risk management specialist Professor Ragnar E Lofstedt would chair a review of all health and safety regulation, with a view to simplifying the rules and easing the unnecessary burdens on business. The review is due to report in the autumn.
	We continue to simplify legislation and provide better targeted guidance for businesses so that they do not waste time on unnecessary bureaucracy. Example risk assessments for low risk workplaces are published on the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website at:
	http://www.hse.gov.uk/risk/casestudies/index.htm
	and HSE has just completed its public consultation on amending the law to reduce the number of 'lost-time' accident reports businesses need to make—see the following website:
	http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2011/hse-riddor.htm
	Inspection and investigation activities are targeted at those who create the most serious risks. HSE has no plans to proactively inspect low risk workplaces which would be counter to the principles of proportionate enforcement—see HSE's Enforcement Policy Statement at the following website:
	http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hse41.pdf

Environmental Protection

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had to discuss the green economy roadmap since January 2011; and who was present at each such meeting.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 19 May 2011
	The Roadmap to a Green Economy was discussed at a formal meeting of the Green Economy Council on 16 February. The meeting was attended by the following:
	Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills; Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change; Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Minister of State for Business and Enterprise; Lord Henley, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Tom Crotty, Ineos; Joe Greenwell, Ford; Stephen Leonard, IBM; Andy Reynolds-Smith, GKN; Dan Labbad—EMEA Land Lease; Heidi Mottram OBE, Northumbrian Water; Ian Goodfellow, Shanks Plc; Neil Bentley, CBI; Frances O'Grady, TUC; Paul Noon, Prospect; Ian Goldsmith, Tata Steel; Nick Bunker, Kraft; David Frost CBE, British Chamber of Commerce; Peter Young, Aldersgate Group; Neil Schofield, Bosch; Dr Mark Lawson-Statham, Intelligent Energy; Shaun Mays, Climate Change Capital; Mike Rolls, Siemens; Phil Bentley—Centrica; and officials from the three Departments.
	Officials from BIS, DECC and DEFRA have held meetings with a range of stakeholders to gather evidence and views to feed into the Roadmap.

Environmental Protection: Liverpool

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he has taken to encourage the growth of the green economy in the Liverpool city region.

Mark Prisk: The Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has identified the low carbon economy as one of its four key priorities and will work with Government on business opportunities. Liverpool will also be eligible to apply for the establishment of a new Technology and Innovation Centre focusing on offshore renewable energy in a national competition.
	BIS LEP Capacity Fund has awarded the LEP £45,000 to help aid local partners in identifying the actions needed to drive their priorities forward and to better understand their business environment.
	The Regional Growth Fund has allocated a project to stimulate small and medium enterprises (SMEs) growth in Liverpool through media advocacy to the Liverpool Echo. Grants of between £10,000 and £100,000 will be distributed to SMEs (including those in the Low Carbon Economy) together with coaching and mentoring.
	In addition, from October 2012, small businesses will be able to improve the energy efficiency of their properties at no upfront cost through the Government's Green Deal scheme.

Executives: Females

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent progress he has made in implementing the recommendations of the report of Lord Davies on women on boards.

Edward Davey: Implementation has started across the body of Lord Davies of Abersoch's recommendations aimed at increasing the number of women reaching the boardrooms of UK plc, the majority of which are directed at industry.
	The executive search community have joined forces to develop a voluntary code of conduct for the sector to abide by and the Financial Reporting Council is currently consulting on changes to the Corporate Governance Code.
	The Department for Business will be consulting on greater disclosure in respect of women on boards as part of its work to strengthen narrative reporting. In addition, company chairmen will be encouraged to sign a charter supporting Lord Davies' recommendations.
	In October Lord Davies will reconvene his steering board to assess the progress to date and a six monthly progress report produced.

Iron and Steel: Industry

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his Department's policy is on support for the steel pipe industry; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: We recognise the vital role that the UK steel pipe industry plays in the supply chain in the UK, supplying steel to a range of key industries which underpin many parts of manufacturing. High technology industries like oil, gas and chemicals require high value continually improving steel pipe products.
	We work closely with the steel industry, including the steel pipe sector, to minimise unnecessary regulatory burdens by involving the sector in discussions on regulatory policy and other issues that impact on them, for example on the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, energy costs and supply, climate change and environmental protection. Our aim is to avoid unintended consequences and harness the sector's many creative ideas for alternative, lighter touch approaches.
	Any Government support for the steel pipe industry needs to meet the requirements in the EC state aid rules which only permit support for research and Development (R and D), environmental protection and training within specified limits.
	For example, the steel pipe industry has opportunities to participate in collaborative R and D projects funded by the Technology Strategy Board and the EU Research Fund for Coal and Steel.
	In addition, UK Trade and Investment has an ongoing and active programme of support for the UK manufacturing sector, including the steel industry, in partnership with numerous stakeholders. This includes organising UK groups at overseas trade shows, leading targeted trade missions and bringing potential buyers and decision-makers to the UK to see our manufacturing capability first-hand.

Departmental Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what regulations his Department introduced between 1 March 2011 and 31 May 2011; and what the estimated costs of implementation were for those affected in each case.

Francis Maude: No regulations were introduced by the Cabinet Office during the period 1 March 2011 and 31 May 2011.

Departmental Regulation

Gordon Banks: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the name is of each regulatory measure revoked by his Department between 1 March and 31 May 2011; and what estimate he has made of the potential annual saving to those affected by each revocation.

Francis Maude: No regulatory measures were revoked by the Cabinet Office during the period 1 March 2011 and 31 May 2011.

Energy: Prices

Michael Weir: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will request the Office of National Statistics to prepare and publish an index of domestic prices (a) in total and (b) separately for (i) gas and (ii) electricity for each year since 2007.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck  dated 16 June 2011 
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking if the ONS could produce an overall index for domestic prices and also separate indices for gas and electricity for every year since 2007 [PQ60407].
	ONS produces two main measures of consumer inflation, the consumer prices index (CPI) and the retail prices index (RPI). The CPI measures inflation for the UK as a whole whilst the RPI inflation measure covers the vast majority of the UK household sector. The information requested on both bases is given below.
	
		
			 Table 1: CPI and RPI: annual inflation rates for all items,  gas and electricity 
			  CPI RPI 
			  Total Gas Electricity Total Gas Electricity 
			 2007 2.3 7.6 8.0 4.3 7.7 8.0 
			 2008 3.6 19.4 15.6 4.0 19.8 15.6 
			 2009 2.2 13.4 4.6 -0.5 13.7 4.5 
			 2010 3.3 -5.5 -2.5 4.6 -5.9 -2.5 
			 May 2011 4.5 6.4 4.0 5.2 6.2 4.0 
		
	
	You may be interested to know that these data are updated every month and along with further details about the CPI and RPI can be found at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk==868

Departmental Travel

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department has spent on ministerial travel by (a) ministerial car, (b) train, (c) bus, (d) commercial aircraft and (e) private aircraft since May 2010.

Bob Neill: The amounts are as follows (for the period May 2010 to March 2011): ministerial car, £277,690; train, £8,060; and commercial aircraft, £1,109 (including fees and taxes). A further £431 was spent on Oyster cards which may be used for rail or bus travel. There has been no expenditure on private aircraft.
	To provide a comparison, the Department's records show that the following amounts were spent on ministerial travel during the financial year 2009-10: ministerial car, £488,276; train, £18,517(1); commercial aircraft, £4,503(1 )(including fees and taxes). There was no expenditure on private aircraft. Amounts spent on bus travel are not
	recorded.
	Section 10 of the Ministerial Code provides guidance on travel for Ministers and makes clear that Ministers must ensure that they always make efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements.
	(1 )This excludes travel made prior to July 2009. The Department changed travel supplier in July 2009 and additional information for the period prior to July 2009 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Travel

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been spent on travel in respect of (a) each of his Department's executive agencies and (b) the chief executive of each such agency since May 2010.

Bob Neill: Between 1 May 2010 and 30 April 2011 the Department's Executive Agencies have spent the following amounts:
	
		
			 £ 
			 DCLG's Executive Agencies (a) travel (b) Chief executive's travel 
			 Fire Service College(1) 126,490.04 7,359.89 
			 Planning Inspectorate 873,139.27 3,380.10 
			 Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre 22,008.14 87.00 
		
	
	As context, the Departments' Executive Agencies spent the following between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2010.
	
		
			 £ 
			 DCLG's Executive Agencies (a) travel (b) Chief executive's travel 
			 Fire Service College(1) 349,451.00 6,399.59 
			 Planning Inspectorate 1,242,887.76 6,529.02 
			 Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre 28,963.74 89.75 
			 (1) Data includes expenditure on both travel and subsistence as spend on travel alone could be made available only at disproportionate cost.

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funding he plans to provide to Manchester City Council to increase the periodicity of refuse collection.

Bob Neill: As set out Waste Review the Government will be working with local councils to increase the frequency and quality of rubbish collections and make it easier to recycle, and to tackle measures which encourage councils specifically to cut the scope of collections.
	The Government understand that the public have a reasonable expectation that household waste collections services should be weekly, particularly for smelly waste.
	Waste services are a matter for local authorities to develop fit for purpose local solutions. However the Government believe that better procurement and joint working can improve the efficiency of collections while improving the frontline service for the public in an affordable and practical manner.
	My Department has already moved to remove Audit Commission guidance and inspections which marked down councils who do not adopt fortnightly rubbish collections; and to abolish local area agreements imposed by Whitehall which created perverse incentives to downgrade waste collection services.
	The Government will also work to monitor service levels to understand whether and how they are changing, keeping the quality, affordability and frequency of household waste collections under review.
	We will also be examining the scope for financial incentives to support weekly collections in all their forms.

Serco

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many contracts his Department holds with SERCO; and what the (a) purpose and (b) monetary value of each such contract is.

Bob Neill: The Department of Communities and Local Government holds a contract with Serco for the IT system and for the operational and support services of the development, implementation and maintenance of the Homeowners Mortgage Support scheme. The contract was for two years and is due to finish at the end of June 2011. The costs to this date are approximately £588,376 (excluding VAT).

Waste Disposal: Finance

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has any plans to provide additional funding as part of (a) the 2011-12 local government financial settlement and (b) future local government financial settlements to assist with costs of refuse collection and disposal.

Bob Neill: As set out Waste Review the Government will be working with local councils to increase the frequency and quality of rubbish collections and make it easier to recycle, and to tackle measures which encourage councils specifically to cut the scope of collections.
	The Government understand that the public have a reasonable expectation that household waste collections services should be weekly, particularly for smelly waste.
	Waste services are a matter for local authorities to develop fit for purpose local solutions. However the Government believe that better procurement and joint working can improve the efficiency of collections while improving the frontline service for the public in an affordable and practical manner.
	My Department has already moved to remove Audit Commission guidance and inspections which marked down councils who do not adopt fortnightly rubbish collections; and to abolish local area agreements imposed by Whitehall which created perverse incentives to downgrade waste collection services.
	The Government will also work to monitor service levels to understand whether and how they are changing, keeping the quality, affordability and frequency of household waste collections under review.
	We will also be examining the scope for financial incentives to support weekly collections in all their forms.

Broadband

Brian H Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  when he plans to announce the allocation of funds for broadband projects in Scotland; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effects of the implementation of his proposals for the provision of high speed broadband on the growth of rural enterprises;
	(3)  what recent discussions he has had with (a) members of the Scottish Parliament and (b) Broadband Delivery UK on the process of devolving responsibility for high speed broadband provision; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what steps his Department plans to take in relation to local authorities who do not meet targets for the provision of high speed broadband by 2015; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  what steps his Department plans to take to ensure universal access to high speed broadband.

Edward Vaizey: As I said on 27 May when announcing the locations of the next wave of projects to receive Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) funding, I intend to announce allocations for all three devolved administrations and English county councils in the near future. My officials are working with the Scottish Government and the other devolved administrations on their broadband plans. I have not had any recent discussions on broadband with Members of the Scottish Parliament.
	The impact of broadband on business growth is well documented in publicly available studies. I have not made any new assessment of the impact of broadband on growth of rural enterprises.
	We will be working with the Scottish Government and the other devolved administrations, as well as English county councils and other local authorities, to ensure that their local broadband plans are capable of meeting our ambition of having 90% of the population with access to superfast broadband in every local area with the rest having access to a service of at least 2 Mbps by 2015. The devolved administrations and English local authorities are showing a high degree of interest in broadband rollout.
	The Government's broadband strategy was published in December 2010 in a document entitled “Britain's Superfast Broadband Future”, which can be accessed on the broadband pages of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport website:
	www.culture.gov.uk
	This sets out the policy and regulatory interventions planned which are aimed at facilitating private sector rollout of broadband networks in addition to outlining the approach we are taking to using the £530 million of public funds available to support broadband rollout up to 2015.

Gambling

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 23 May 2011, Official Report, columns 349-50W, on gambling, what funding his Department provided for research, education and treatment of problem gambling in each year since 2005; and if he will estimate the level of funding for such activities from industry in each of those years.

John Penrose: For each of the years between 2006-07 and 2010-11 the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) provided grant in aid to the Gambling Commission to be used for gambling research, primarily the British Gambling Prevalence Surveys for 2007 and 2010, but did not fund education and treatment. In 2005-06, when the Gambling Commission took on the responsibilities of its predecessor, the Gaming Board for Great Britain, a small proportion of the Grant in aid received from DCMS was spent on gambling research but a detailed breakdown can be provided only at disproportionate cost. The following table sets out the Department's provision for gambling research and industry contributions to research, education and treatment.
	
		
			 £ million 
			  Industry funding  (1) Grant in aid 
			 2005-06 2.16 (2)— 
			 2006-07 2.96 0.5 
			 2007-08 3.44 0.5 
			 2008-09 3.5 0.5 
			 2009-10 5 0.5 
			 2010-11 (3)5 0.48 
			 (1) Funding to RIGT (Responsibility in Gambling Trust) and Great (The Great Foundation) for research, education and treatment.  (2) Not available.  (3) Provisional figure.

Telecommunications: Hearing Impairment

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions his Department has had with (a) the Cabinet Office, (b) 10 Downing Street,(c)the Government Equalities Office,(d) the Department for Work and Pensions,(e)the Ministry of Justice and(f)HM Treasury on access to telecommunications for users of British Sign Language.

Edward Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has held four EU Framework Implementation workshops over the last 12 months, with officials in (a) Cabinet Office, (c) the Government Equalities Office, (d) the Department for Work and Pensions, (e) the Ministry of Justice and (f) HM Treasury, to discuss the issue of access to telecommunications for users of British Sign Language (BSL) under the UK's implementation of the EU framework review under Article 23(a) which states that disabled and older people should have equivalent access to services and products.
	The eAccessibility Forum have held four meetings over the last 12 months where the issue of access to telecommunications services for users of British Sign Language (BSL) has been presented and discussed by members from Industry and the Third sector. These meetings also included the following Departments (a) Cabinet Office, (c) the Government Equalities Office, (d) the Department for Work and Pensions, and (e) the Ministry of Justice. The eAccessibility forum continues to work with Ofcom to look at Article 23(a) and what equivalence of service and products would look like for disabled and older people in the UK as well as supporting deaf, deaf/blind and hard of hearing telecoms users by pursuing the duty to promote the availability of terminal equipment suitable for disabled end users. This includes access to telecommunications equipment for users of British Sign Language (BSL).
	The eAccessibility Action plan is a key tool to develop further government policy in this area, and to provide government, business and other organisations with the right tools to enable everyone to contribute to the UK digital economy.

Telecommunications: Hearing Impairment

Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what plans he has to extend access to telecommunications for users of British Sign Language to local communities following the publication of the Ofcom Relay Services Review.

Edward Vaizey: The Government strongly supported the introduction of Article 23a into the revised Universal Services Directive, and its clarification of powers for National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) to specify, where appropriate, requirements to be met by undertakings providing electronic networks and services in relation to equivalence in access and choice for disabled end-users. To implement these revisions the Government have affected changes to the Communications Act 2003 that enable Ofcom to specify, where appropriate, requirements to be met by undertakings providing publicly available electronic communication services.
	Separately, and in line with their responsibilities to further the interests of citizens and consumers, Ofcom, the independent telecoms regulator, is currently undertaking a review of relay service provision in the UK. The objectives of this review are to assess whether current arrangements are adequate in delivering equivalence to voice telephony for hearing (including BSL users) and speech impaired end-users. This review will look at, among other things, the existing text relay service and additional relay services including video relay and captioned telephony. It will also include a cost benefit analysis of the different potential options. The Government believe this is an appropriate and sensible way forward. However, it would be inappropriate to speculate on the outcome of that review or attempt to influence its conclusions.

Telecommunications: Ofcom

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with Ofcom on the timetable for Ofcom's review of relay services.

Edward Vaizey: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport has not met with Ofcom to discuss the timetable for their review of relay services.
	However, officials have met with Ofcom both to discuss implementation of the revised EU Electronic Communications Framework, and in particular Article 23a of the Universal Services Directorate which provides new powers to Ofcom to act on the outcome of their current review; and more generally to discuss the Ofcom review of relay services. Some of these discussions have been in the context of the e-Accessibility Forum.

Telecommunications: Ofcom

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what meetings Ministers and officials in his Department have had with Ofcom on relay services in the last 12 months.

Edward Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has held four EU Framework Implementation stakeholder engagement events over the last twelve months. These were attended by officials from across Whitehall including officials from Cabinet Office, the Government Equalities Office, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Ministry of Justice. These events were held to discuss, among aspects of implementation, the issue of access to telecommunications for users of British Sign Language (BSL) and implementation of the EU framework review including Article 23(a) and its provisions which relate to access and choice for disabled and older people.
	In addition, the eAccessibility Forum has held four meetings over the last 12 months where the issue of access to telecommunications services for users of British Sign Language (BSL) has been presented and discussed by members from industry and the third sector. These meetings also included representatives from the Cabinet Office, the Government Equalities Office, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Ministry of Justice. The eAccessibility forum continues to work with Ofcom to look at Article 23(a) and what equivalence of service and products would look like for disabled and older people in the UK as well as supporting deaf, deaf/blind and hard of hearing telecoms users by pursuing the duty to promote the availability of terminal equipment suitable for disabled end users. This includes access to telecommunications equipment for users of British Sign Language (BSL).
	The eAccessibility action plan is a key tool to develop further government policy in this area, and to provide government, business and other organisations with the right tools to enable everyone to contribute to the UK digital economy.

Sixth Form Colleges

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many young people entered formal post-16 education in sixth forms in (a) 2000 and (b) 2009.

Nick Gibb: Data on participation in education post-16 is published in a Department for Education (DFE) Statistical First Release (SFR) entitled "Participation in Education, Training and Employment by 16-18 Year Olds in England".
	The following table shows the numbers and proportions of the cohort of young people of academic age 16 (the vast majority of whom will be in their first year of post-compulsory education) who were participating in education, by institution type, in 2000 and 2009.
	
		
			 Participation in education at academic age 16 by institution type, end 2000 and end 2009 
			  2000 2009 
			  Number Percentage Number Percentage 
			 Maintained schools(1) 174,726 28.8 209,979 33.0 
			 Academies and City Technology Colleges 1,981 0.3 12,496 2.0 
			 Independent schools(2) 35,585 5.9 38,689 6.1 
			 Sixth form colleges 58,005 9.6 75,498 11.9 
			 General FE, tertiary and specialist colleges 188,052 31.0 228,851 35.9 
			 Higher education institutions 2,413 0.4 2,441 0.4 
			 Total 460,762 75.9 567,954 89.2 
			 Population 606,706  636,956  
			 (1) Includes all pupils in maintained schools and maintained special schools and pupil referral units. (2) Includes all pupils in independent schools, non-maintained special schools.

Climate Change

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the abolition of National Indicator 186 on the number of local authorities taking action on climate change.

Gregory Barker: No assessment has been carried out. The data which was previously known as National Indicator 186 continues to be collected as part of our standard collection of national statistics. It is published at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/indicators/ni186/ni186.aspx

Energy: Manufacturing Industries

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effects of energy policy on UK manufacturers;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effects of energy policy on small and medium-sized enterprises.

Charles Hendry: DECC's assessment of the impact of energy and climate change policies on gas and electricity prices and bills was published alongside the Annual Energy Statement (AES) in July 2010. The headline messages were that energy and climate change policies were:
	Adding 6% to the average gas price and 20% to the average electricity price paid by medium-sized non-domestic users(1) in 2010, rising to 24% and 43%, respectively, in 2020.
	Adding 5% to the average gas bill and 19% to the average electricity bill and 14% to the average energy (gas plus electricity) bill paid by medium-sized non-domestic users in 2010, rising to 20%, 29% and 26%, respectively, in 2020.
	The above impacts are consistent with a wholesale gas price of around 70p/therm in 2020.(2 )Under a higher gas price scenario, the impact of the same policies on bills is estimated to be lower. For example, at a gas price of around 120p/therm in 2020, the impact of these policies is estimated to be 13% (instead of 26%) on the average energy bill faced by these users, compared to a bill in 2020 in the absence of these policies.
	The largest component of energy bills is wholesale energy costs—based primarily on the price of natural gas. Reducing our dependence on fossil fuels will help reduce the exposure that energy consumers have to volatile movements in international fossil fuel prices, as well as making our energy supplies more secure.
	The above estimates do not include the subsequent announcements that the Renewable Heat Incentive and Carbon Capture and Storage demos would be funded through general taxation rather than a levy on gas and electricity prices, the introduction of a Carbon Price Floor, or the potential impacts of the Government's Electricity Market Reform proposals.
	An updated assessment, including these announced policy changes, will be published alongside the next AES and will include an assessment of the impacts of energy and climate change policies on gas and electricity prices and bills paid by illustrative large energy intensive industrial users.
	In terms of other effects, energy and climate change policies are also helping UK businesses to become more energy efficient, to invest in low carbon innovation and to compete in the growing international market for low carbon products.
	(1) Non-domestic energy consumers include industry, transport, public administration, commercial and agriculture. A medium-sized gas user is defined by an annual consumption of between 2,228MWh and 27,777MWh of gas. A medium-sized electricity user is defined by an annual consumption of between 2,000 and 19,999MWh of electricity (both based on Eurostat definitions). The midpoints of these ranges were used for our analysis.
	(2) Real 2009 prices.

Energy: Prices

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he plans to take to assess the effects on (a) payment method preference, (b) levels of debt and (c) levels of disconnections of domestic energy consumers of (i) recent and (ii) future energy prices; and what funding his Department has provided for energy efficiency advice and information for consumers in the latest period for which figures are available.

Charles Hendry: In order to meet its principal duty to protect the interests of consumers, Ofgem collects and monitors data on debt and disconnection and areas which affect vulnerable consumers, including payment method preference such as prepayment meters. It uses this information to help assess supplier performance and prioritise its future work.
	In 2011-12, DECC is core grant funding the Energy Saving Trust a total of £16.5 million. A large proportion of this is to provide energy efficiency advice and information for consumers.
	Funding for the Warm Front Scheme in 2011-12 is £108 million. Under the Scheme, eligible applicants are provided with heating and insulation measures and energy efficiency advice.

EU Structural Funds

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will make representations to the European Commission on the allocation of funding from EU Structural Funds.

Gregory Barker: The Government's representations to the European Commission on funding from the EU structural funds, and indeed on all funding from the EU Budget, in both the annual budget and multi-annual financial framework process is led by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne). The Government believe that funding for climate change should make-up a larger share of a smaller budget in the next multi-annual financial framework, and that climate change objectives should be funded through existing headings, including the EU structural funds. The Government will continue to make this case to the European Commission.

Fuel Poverty

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  how many households in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland were living in fuel poverty in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many low-income households with children are classified as living in fuel poverty in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland;
	(3)  how many pensioner households are classified as living in fuel poverty in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland;
	(4)  how many households with individuals registered as disabled are classified as living in fuel poverty in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland;
	(5)  what information his Department holds on the number of Scottish households in fuel poverty in (a) the private rented sector, (b) local authority housing, (c) social housing and (d) owner-occupied housing in each of the last five years.

Gregory Barker: Fuel poverty is a devolved measurement and each country of the UK is responsible for measuring the number of fuel poor households in their own country.
	The following table shows the number of fuel poor households in each year since 2005 for which they have been measured:
	
		
			 Thousand 
			  2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 
			 England 1,529 2,432 2,823 3,335 * 
			 Scotland 419 543 586 618 770 
			 Wales n/a n/a n/a 332 n/a 
			 Northern Ireland n/a 226 n/a n/a 302 
		
	
	2009 fuel poverty figures for England will be published on 14 July 2011. Figures for Wales and Northern Ireland are not produced every year.
	Detailed numbers of fuel poor households shown in answer to other questions are derived from the most recent data available in each country.
	In 2008, in England, there were around 394,000 fuel poor households with income in the lowest three decile groups that contained a child under the age of 16. Using a similar definition in Scotland, in 2009, there were around 46,000 low income households containing children that were fuel poor and around 29,000 corresponding households in Wales. Figures are not available for Northern Ireland.
	In England in 2008, around 1.72 million fuel poor households contained somebody aged 60 or over. In Scotland, in 2009, around 497,000 fuel poor households contained somebody aged 60 or over. In Wales in 2008, around 183,000 fuel poor households contained somebody aged 60 or over. Figures are not available for Northern Ireland.
	In England in 2008, around 1.29 million fuel poor households contained somebody who was long-term ill or disabled. The corresponding figure for Scotland in 2009 was around 309,000 and in Wales, in 2008, around 160,000 households. Figures are not available for Northern Ireland.
	The Scottish Government holds information on the number of fuel poor households in Scotland by tenure. The Department has sourced the data from them and this is displayed as follows:
	
		
			 Thousand 
			 Households 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 
			 Owner occupied 298 379 362 371 485 
			 Local authority/other public 45 81 116 97 138 
			 HA/co-op 46 42 54 88 80 
			 Private rented sector 31 41 53 62 63

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will make representations to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the compatibility of the decision on confidentiality in respect of IPCC processes and procedures taken at the 33rd session of the IPCC with article 2 of the Principles Governing IPCC Work.

Gregory Barker: The Government consider that the IPCC decision is consistent with the Principles Governing IPCC work. As part of the ongoing work of the Task Group on Processes and Procedures, the IPCC agreed to develop transparency and openness further by taking forward discussions of ways to widen expert comments in the development of IPCC reports. My officials will participate fully in these discussions.

Natural Gas: Exploration

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 8 June 2011, Official Report, column 347W, on natural gas: exploration, if he will publish the results of the geomechanical study on the recent seismic tremors near Blackpool upon completion; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: This geomechanical study, which commenced recently, is expected take between 30-60 days. Upon completion I anticipate that the results will be published and, as I have already indicated, the implications of this information will be reviewed before any decision on the resumption of hydraulic fracture operations is made.

Renewables Obligation

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to publish (a) the details of the Renewables Obligation banding review and (b) the date of publication of the report of the review.

Gregory Barker: The first phase of the Renewables Obligation banding review, the independent report carried out by ARUP on generation costs and deployment potential across the renewables electricity sector, was published on 10 June 2011. A copy of Arup's report is available on DECC's website at the following location:
	www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/meeting_energy/Renewable_Ener/renew_obs/renew_obs.aspx
	We will publish the consultation, which will include the proposed ROC levels for the various technologies, later this summer. The Government response to the RO banding review consultation will be issued before the end of the year. This will contain the finalised banding levels to be introduced from April 2013 (April 2014 for offshore wind).

Windpower

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate his Department has made of the cost-effectiveness of onshore wind power.

Charles Hendry: Using the findings from Arup (2011)(1), DECC have calculated the cost per MWh of electricity generated by small (<5 MW) and large scale (>5 MW) onshore wind power.
	(1) Arup (2011), Review of the generation costs and deployment potential of renewable electricity technologies in the UK, can be found at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pnl1_47/pnl1_47.aspx
	These costs are expected to reduce over time. Onshore wind is one of the most cost-effective sources of renewable electricity.
	The table compares the cost per MWh of onshore wind to the cost per MWh of non-renewable electricity generation from Mott Macdonald (2010)(2). Costs are expected to reduce over time for nuclear and CCS technologies as they are deployed more widely and the technologies mature. The costs of unabated fossil plant are estimated to increase over time driven by higher future carbon prices.
	(2) Mott Macdonald (2010), UK Electricity Generation Costs Update, can be found at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/Statistics/Projections/71-uk-electricity-generation-costs-update-.pdf
	
		
			  Levelised costs £/MWh 
			 Onshore wind >5 MW 90.2 
			 Onshore wind <5 MW 104.9 
			 Gas CCGT 80.3 
			 Gas CCGT with CCS (FOAK) 112.5 
			 ASC Coal 104.5 
			 ASC Coal with CCS (FOAK) 142.1 
			 Coal IGCC (FOAK) 134.6 
			 Coal IGCC with CCS (FOAK) 147.6 
			 Nuclear PWR (FOAK) 99.0 
			 Notes: 1. The onshore wind levelised costs are based on Amp (2011) central capital and operating expenditure estimates for a small and large onshore wind reference plant. They assume a 2011 project start and are discounted at 10%. The assumed load factor is 29% for large onshore wind and 25% for small onshore wind. The assumed installation lifetime is 24 years. 2. The levelised costs of non-renewable technologies are based on Mott Macdonald (2010) central capital and operating expenditure estimates. They assume a 2009 project start and are discounted at 10%.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when (a) she and (b) other Ministers in her Department were first informed of the discovery by researchers from the university of Cambridge of a new strain of MRSA in milk from a British herd; and what steps she plans to take to address the issue.

James Paice: holding answer 15 June 2011
	The former Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for Blackburn (Mr Straw) and Ministers were first informed of the novel MRSA strain that had been identified by the university of Cambridge on 24 September 2009. On 1 June 2011, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), was notified of the impending publication of the university of Cambridge's paper on this novel MRSA strain.
	As a result of the university of Cambridge notifying the Department of the identification of this novel strain in 2009, DEFRA, including its Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA), alerted colleagues from the Department of Health, the Health Protection Agency and the Food Standards Agency about the initial findings. As a result of the consequent discussions, DEFRA commissioned the university to undertake some further work to enhance understanding of the origin and the significance of this new finding. Included within this additional work was the investigation of some cattle Staphylococcus aureus isolates that the VLA had retained as an archive after a research project into mastitis (inflammation of the udder) in cattle. None of these isolates were identified as MRSA by the VLA using normal testing protocols, although a few showed some resistance to the antibiotics commonly used to identify MRSA. These isolates identified by VLA as having a degree of resistance underwent further examination during this additional research and some were shown to be similar to the strain identified by Cambridge.
	Now that this research has been completed, DEFRA will continue to collaborate with public health bodies that are all represented at the DEFRA Antimicrobial Resistance Coordination (DARC) group. A sub-group specifically on MRSA will also continue to monitor all new developments relating to all types of MRSA and will advise on potential policy options accordingly. Further research projects will be commissioned on antimicrobial resistance. Their scope will continue to be prioritised, and this will be informed by the DARC group, which assesses risk to help target funding to where it is most needed.
	The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency will continue to test clinical samples from cows with mastitis (and other diagnostic submissions from cows and other farmed species) and so monitor such material for the presence of Staphylococcus aureus and whether such isolates demonstrate resistance to antibiotics. The VMD is responsible for authorising all veterinary antimicrobial products and monitors the overall volume of sales and any suspected adverse reactions (including being notified about suspected failures in effectiveness, which may be an indication of the development of antimicrobial resistance).

Afghanistan: Corruption

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the level of corruption in the Afghan Government; and what mechanism he uses to measure such levels.

Andrew Mitchell: I have been asked to reply.
	Corruption threatens economic growth in developing countries; in Afghanistan, it hampers socio-economic development, undermines the legitimacy of the Government and prevents the delivery of services to the Afghan people. The coalition Government will not tolerate corruption and in all its development programmes does its utmost to eliminate it.
	At the Kabul Conference in July 2010 the Afghan Government made several key commitments to tackle corruption. The International Community, led by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), monitors progress against these commitments. Progress to date has been mixed, but there have been some significant achievements, such as the establishment of a Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (MEC) comprised of Afghans and international experts, which will assess performance against agreed anti-corruption benchmarks.
	The UK Government monitors Afghan perceptions of corruption using a range of survey data gathered by International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), The Asia Foundation and Integrity Watch Afghanistan.

Bladder Cancer

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps (a) his Department and (b) the NHS are taking to raise awareness of the (i) risk factors, (ii) diagnosis and (iii) treatment of bladder cancer.

Paul Burstow: Smoking is the biggest cause of preventable bladder cancer. Healthy lives, healthy people: a tobacco control plan for England, published on 9 March 2011, sets out a range of national actions to support local evidence-based activity to reduce smoking rates in England. The link between tobacco use and cancer is clearly made in the plan, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library.
	To improve the diagnosis, treatment and care of patients with all cancers, including bladder cancer, on 12 January 2011 we published “Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer”. The strategy sets out an ambition to save an additional 5,000 lives every year by 2014-15 through earlier diagnosis of cancer and improved access to screening and radiotherapy. To support earlier diagnosis of cancer the Government have committed over £450 million over the next four years, which includes provision for the funding of awareness activity.
	The focus of future campaign work will be determined by evaluation of current cancer awareness activity.
	This includes £9 million to support 59 local projects focusing on breast, bowel and lung cancer and £1.75 million that has trialled a national bowel cancer campaign in two regions. However, we know that not all the 5,000 lives can be saved by tackling these common cancers alone, and we are considering how we might extend the previous campaigns to cover other cancers, including bladder cancer.
	In 2002 the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published Improving Outcomes in Urological Cancers which sets out best practice for the national health service for the diagnosis care and treatment of patients with urological cancers, including bladder cancer. Our cancer strategy confirms that MICE Improving Outcomes Guidance will continue to be a feature of all commissioned cancer services.

Cancer: Health Services

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to ensure co- ordination of cancer services in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14 and (d) 2014-15.

Paul Burstow: Primary care trusts will continue to take responsibility for the co-ordination of cancer services until they are abolished, and their functions in the relevant area transferred to new clinical commissioning groups, local authorities and the National Health Service Commissioning Board (CB). As set out in the Government's response to the NHS Future Forum report, the intention is to create a new duty for clinical commissioning groups to promote integrated services for patients and to strengthen the duty on the NHS CB. The NHS CB will promote innovative ways of demonstrating how care can be made more integrated for patients.
	To support the co-ordination of cancer services, we have said that cancer networks will now continue to receive funding in 2012-13 and that, subject to legislation, the NHS Commissioning Board will support strengthened cancer networks in the future. The National Cancer Director, Professor Sir Mike Richards, has been asked to begin work to strengthen the cancer networks and to engage them to understand how best to improve outcomes for patients.
	Those areas of cancer commissioning that are currently covered by national or regional specialised commissioning, such as children's cancers services, will continue to be subject to similar arrangements, through the NHS CB.

Care Homes

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidelines his Department has issued on the size of care homes;
	(2)  what guidelines his Department has issued on the location of care homes.

Paul Burstow: The Department has not issued guidance on the size and location of care homes. It is for local authorities, working with providers, to ensure that sufficient numbers of suitable care home places are available to meet the needs of their populations.
	Care providers must register with the regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and comply with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations (2010 SI 2010/781), which include requirements around the suitability of premises. A copy of the Regulations has already been placed in the Library.
	Regulation 15 includes a requirement on safety and suitability of premises, which requires the registered person to ensure that service users and others are protected against the risks of unsafe or unsuitable premises.
	Regulation 22 requires the registered person to ensure that at all times, sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff are employed in order to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of service users. In addition, the CQC has the power to impose conditions on registration which might include restricting the number of service users a service may care for to ensure that services are safe and of an acceptable quality.
	If providers fail to comply with the regulations, the CQC may take enforcement action.

National Association of Primary Care: Finance

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding his Department provided to the National Association of Primary Care in the latest period for which figures are available; for what projects such funding was provided; and what the criteria for assessing (a) progress and (b) the outcome of each such project are.

Simon Burns: The National Association of Primary Care (NAPC) has received funding from the Department for a range of projects and sponsorships, including those aimed at improving engagement with frontline clinicians. For example, the Department has funded the NAPC (and other primary care organisations) to support it in its work on the transition to the new clinical commissioning arrangements.
	Key criteria for success have included proactive clinical leadership and engagement with frontline general practitioners (GPs), and the provision of advice and support to GPs as they begin to form clinical commissioning groups.
	Details of funding awarded to the NAPC since April 2010 are as follows:
	
		
			 Description Date of purchase order approval Costs (£) 
			 Call off contract with NAPC to support implementation of GP commissioning 23 November 2010 80,000 
			 Sponsorship of award for “Improving services for patients” at the NAPC vision awards 6 October 2010 5,000 
			 Funding for production of four monthly issues of Practical Commissioning from September to December 2010 (NAPC coordinated transfer of this funding to Practical Commissioning) 2 July 2010 28,000 
			 Total  113,000

Immigration: Crime

Steve Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reports of suspected immigration offences the UK Border Agency and its predecessor received in each of the last five years; and how many such reports were acted upon.

Damian Green: Reports of suspected immigration and/or customs offences received by the UK Border Agency, and their outcomes, are not recorded centrally. Information is recorded and assessed at the local level, and acted upon according to regional priorities.
	Therefore, the information requested over a five-year period could be obtained only by the detailed examination of individual local records at disproportionate cost.
	The agency acknowledges the need to improve the end-to-end process of allegations handling in our response to the Independent Chief Inspector's (ICI) report on how the UK Border Agency receives and uses intelligence. A copy of the UK Border Agency Response to the ICI report has been placed in the Library.

Offenders: Rehabilitation

Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on the resettlement of ex-offenders.

Crispin Blunt: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government's policy is to deliver more effective resettlement outcomes, through:
	Probation, police and other local services taking an integrated approach to managing offenders;
	rehabilitating offenders from drug dependency to drug- free lives, and to support them to make a full contribution to society;
	getting offenders into jobs and with somewhere to live so that they can pay their own way; and
	tackling mental health problems.

Police: Dorset

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were (a) in Dorset Police and (b) assigned to Bournemouth in each of the last 10 financial years.

Nick Herbert: holding answer 16 June 2011
	Available data for Dorset, Bournemouth and Bournemouth and Poole police force areas are provided on Tables A and B respectively.
	
		
			 Table A: Police officer strength in Dorset as at 31 March, 2001 to 2010 and 30 September 2011 
			 Dorset Number 
			 2001(1) 1,354 
			 2002(1) 1,381 
			 2003(2) 1,416 
			 2004(2) 1,433 
			 2005(2) 1,450 
			 2006(2) 1,485 
			 2007(2) 1,492 
			 2008(2) 1,482 
			 2009(2) 1,463 
			 2010(2) 1,447 
			 September 2011 1,439 
			 (1) These are full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. They Include all officers less staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave (comparable with previously published figures) (2) Full-time equivalent figures on a comparable strength basis (excludes those on career breaks, or maternity/paternity leave). The Police Numbers Task Force (2001) recommended that a clear presentation was made of the numbers of staff employed by police forces including those seconded into the force and those on any type of long or short term absence. These new calculations were first used in 2003. and are not comparable with data prior to March 2003. The data from 2003 onwards used here are termed comparable because they have been calculated on the old basis to allow comparison. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table B: Police officer strength  (1, 2 )  in Bournemouth and Bournemouth and Poole as at 31 March 2001 to 2010 
			 Full-time equivalent  (1) 
			  Bournemouth Bournemouth and Poole 
			 2001 n/a * 
			 2002 n/a * 
			 2003 318 * 
			 2004 322 * 
			 2005 317 * 
			 2006 319 * 
			 2007 315 * 
			 2008 317 * 
			 2009 * 506 
			 2010 * 481 
			 n/a = Not available. Basic command unit data were not collected centrally by the Home Office prior to 2003. * = Not applicable (1) Police personnel statistics are not collected by parliamentary constituency. Data have been provided for Bournemouth basic command unit for 2003 to 2008. In 2009, the basic command unit breakdown within Dorset changed. The figure for 2009 and 2010 is for 'Bournemouth and Poole'. (2) These are full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Figures include officers on career break or maternity/paternity leave.

Caribbean: Climate Change

Daniel Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to assist Caribbean countries to adapt to climate-related challenges and develop greener economies.

Stephen O'Brien: The UK Government are helping Caribbean countries to adapt to climate challenges in a number of ways. Support from the Department for International Development's (DRD's) regional programme is helping build evidence on the potential effects of climate change for Caribbean countries. For example, we have funded detailed studies of climate change on tourism investments. We plan to help 228,000 people in vulnerable communities build their resilience by making their homes safer and stronger and will support introduction of hazard insurance products for small scale farmers and businesses in the region. We will invest in efforts to develop low carbon energy and the protection of marine habitats and livelihoods of fishermen/women most at risk.
	The region also benefits from UK contributions to global programmes such as the Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR) and the Climate Development and Knowledge Network which are helping countries integrate climate change adaptation and risk reduction into future policy and investment decisions.

Ethiopia: Overseas Aid

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations he has received on the use of UK development aid by the government of Ethiopia.

Stephen O'Brien: The Secretary of State receives occasional representations, from members of the public and non-governmental organisations, about the use of development aid by the Government of Ethiopia. Issues raised have been: access to health and education services provided across Ethiopia with support from the UK and other donors; Ethiopia's plans for hydropower; commercial farming; democratisation; the role of NGOs; the humanitarian situation; and consultation on priorities for the Department for International Development's programme in Ethiopia.

Community Orders

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on the setting of conditions of community sentences by prison governors and probation officers under his proposals for payment by results schemes.

Crispin Blunt: The Government's plans for piloting payment by results for offender rehabilitation were outlined in the Ministry of Justice Green Paper "Breaking the Cycle: Effective punishment, rehabilitation and sentencing of offenders ". At least two of the planned pilot projects will involve offenders managed on community sentences.
	The selection of requirements for community sentences is solely the responsibility of the courts. The Government currently have no plans to extend this responsibility to prison governors, probation officers or other third parties.
	Providers of probation services have a statutory duty to assist the courts in determining the appropriate sentence to pass. This is met through the provision of advice in the form of a Pre-Sentence Report. This function is reserved to the public sector under the Offender Management Act 2007.

Coroners: Reform

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  whether he has any plans to revise arrangements for the allocation of coroners inquests in relation to the death of members of the armed forces;
	(2)  what plans he has to monitor the standard of investigations into deaths of members of the armed services following his decision not to establish the post of Chief Coroner.

Jonathan Djanogly: The statement made by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke) on 14 June 2011, Official Report, columns 64-66WS, set out our plans for reform of the coroner system, including the transfer of a number of functions vested in the office of the chief coroner.
	This included powers under sections 12 and 13 of the Coroner and Justice Act 2009 which allow for the transfer of cases involving the deaths of service personnel abroad from England and Wales to Scotland where appropriate (or from Scotland to England and Wales). This function will be transferred to the Lord Chief Justice.
	Monitoring arrangements for service personnel deaths will remain as at present. This involves the publication of quarterly written ministerial statements with details of the inquests of service personnel who have died in operations and exercises overseas, the latest of which can be found on the Parliament website at:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm110512/wmstext/110512m0001.htm

Crime: Victims

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of victims of crime made a victim personal statement in each year from 2001 to 2010.

Crispin Blunt: Information on the number or proportion of victims who made a victim personal statement to the police is not held centrally.
	However, data from the Witness and Victim Experience Survey indicates that, in 2009-10, 43% of respondents remembered being offered the opportunity to make a victim personal statement and, of these, 55% said they actually did so. The survey interviewed victims and prosecution witnesses aged 18 and over, whose case resulted in a charge, between four and six months after the case had closed. Victims and witnesses in sensitive cases (such as sexual offences or domestic violence, crimes involving a fatality, or any crime where the defendant was a family member or a member of the witness's or victim's household) were not included on ethical grounds.
	Since September 2007 victims who have opted into the probation service's statutory Victim Contact Scheme have been able to submit a victim personal statement to the Parole Board where the board is conducting a hearing in relation to a prisoner. The number of victim personal statements submitted to the Parole Board is not held centrally.

Offenders: Training

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of offenders refused to engage in education and skills courses in each year since 1995.

Crispin Blunt: Neither the Skills Funding Agency nor the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) hold information centrally relating to the numbers of offenders who refuse to engage in courses. However, data collected tells us that, since the implementation of OLASS, the proportion of offenders in prison participating in learning and skills provision has risen from 30% to over 41%.
	Offenders serving community sentences often access mainstream training and education as part of their sentence plan. No statistical data is held in respect of those who refuse to engage.

Offenders: Training

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to his Department's Green Paper, Breaking the Cycle: Effective Punishment, Rehabilitation and Sentencing of Offenders, page 33, paragraph 112, which business leaders his Department has identified to champion employers working with offenders on skills-based programmes to support rehabilitation.

Crispin Blunt: Both the Green Paper “Breaking the Cycle: Effective Punishment, Rehabilitation and Sentencing of Offenders” and the recently published offender learning review “Making Prison Work: Skills for Rehabilitation” place skills and employment at the heart of rehabilitation. Both reviews place significant emphasis on relationships with employers in ensuring that skills training and development for offenders match the skills demands of employers and the business community.
	To ensure dialogue between Government and employers, a number of business leaders have been brought together to lead the Employer Forum for Reducing Re-Offending, acting as advisers, champions and advocates to other employers regarding supporting offenders to obtain employment. The forum is driven by a leadership team chaired by James Timpson OBE, Chief Executive of Timpson Ltd and comprises membership of 14 other companies including Marks and Spencer, DHL, Mitie Group, Greggs, Cisco Systems, Transport for London, Sodexho, Bovis Lend Lease, SERCO and Compass Group.
	Within the wider forum of employers, there are many other private sector organisations currently supporting skills training in both custody and community including National Grid and its extensive supply chain of companies, Sainsbury's, Enterprise plc and Tesco. There are many other examples of successful partnerships across NOMS, whether employers are recruiting offenders directly from prison, running a prison workshop, providing work placements or helping shape policy and practice.

Probation: ICT

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he plans to establish an integrated IT system for probation lots and private sector operators to tender for unpaid work.

Crispin Blunt: Probation trust and private sector providers of Community Payback (Unpaid Work) will be required to access and maintain data held on the national applications to be used by probation trusts for the case management and risk management of offenders in the community. This will ensure that the same risk assessment tool is used and a single view of the offender is available irrespective of the organisation delivering the service.

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which occupations are exempted under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, as amended.

Crispin Blunt: Part III of schedule 1 to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 ('Exceptions Order’) lists those occupations that are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 ('Act'). Subsequent orders have since been made that add to and amend the list of occupations included in this schedule and can be found in the relevant years' Exceptions Order. The following is a consolidated list of current occupations in the Exceptions Order:
	1. Firearms dealer
	2. Any occupation in respect of which an application to the Gaming Board for Great Britain for a licence, certificate or registration is required by or under any enactment.
	3. Any occupation which is concerned with:
	(a) the management of a place in respect of which the approval of the Secretary of State is required by section 1 of the Abortion Act 1967; or
	(b) in England and Wales, carrying on a nursing home in respect of which registration is required by section 187 of the Public Health Act 1936 or section 14 of the Mental Health Act 1959; or
	(c) in Scotland, carrying on a nursing home in respect of which registration is required under section 1 of the Nursing Homes Registration (Scotland) Act 1938 or a private hospital in respect of which registration is required under section 15 of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1960.
	4. Any occupation which is concerned with carrying on an establishment in respect of which registration is required by section 37 of the National Assistance Act 1948 or section 61 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968.
	5. Any occupation in respect of which the holder, as occupier of premises on which explosives are kept, is required pursuant to regulations 4 and 7 of the Control of Explosives Regulations 1991 to obtain from the chief officer of police a valid explosives certificate certifying him to be a fit person to acquire or acquire and keep explosives
	6. Approved legal services body manager.
	7. A regulated immigration adviser.
	The Exceptions Order also lists those professions, offices, employment, licences, certificates, permits and proceedings that are exempt from the operation of the Act.

Young Offenders: Probation

Ben Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his policy is on supporting the transition between youth offending and probation services when a young offender reaches 18.

Crispin Blunt: Our policy is to ensure a smooth transition between youth and adult justice services at age 18 to ensure that there is continuity and consistency in access to services. As part of this the YJB are piloting an IT portal designed to share information between Youth Offending Teams and probation, and have developed a youth to adult protocol for local areas to use as young people transition from youth to adult justice services.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on resurfacing A-roads in the last five years.

Norman Baker: For the roads which are the responsibility of the Highways Agency, the agency's annual accounts over the past five years has reported the following in terms of expenditure on maintenance.
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2009-10 1,307 
			 2008-09 914 
			 2007-08 878 
			 2006-07 850 
			 2005-06 852 
		
	
	Expenditure figures have been adjusted to account for spend relating to roads trunked or detrunked in the financial year.
	The expenditure figures provided are for maintenance on the strategic road network managed and maintained by the Highways Agency. This includes renewal of the road surface and repairs to structures, as well as routine maintenance such as gully clearing, white lining, cleaning and winter maintenance, but not those associated with private finance initiative contracts.
	To disaggregate the cost of A-roads for the Highways Agency can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department for Transport also provides capital funding for highways maintenance to local highway authorities and it is for each individual highway authority to decide how to allocate this money, including resurfacing of A-roads for which they are responsible.
	Figures detailing how much has been spent by local authorities specifically on resurfacing of A-roads are not held centrally. Information on overall expenditure for structural maintenance on A-roads by local authorities is routinely published on the Department for Communities and Local Government website at the following weblinks:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/localregional/localgovernmentfinance/statistics/revenueexpenditure/revenue200910/localauthoritydata/
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/capitallocaldata200910

Atos

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much (a) will be paid to Atos Healthcare for the current contract to provide medical services to his Department and (b) Atos Healthcare has been so paid to date.

Chris Grayling: The information is as follows:
	(a) The contract with Atos Healthcare is demand driven. Our profile of costs to date lead us to estimate a total contract value in the region of £1 billion over the lifetime of the contract.(from 1 September 2005 to 31 August 2015). The scope of the services includes medical assessment, medical advice, IT support infrastructure and maintenance of facilities.
	(b) The amount paid to date (for each financial year) to Atos Healthcare for medical services is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Financial period £ million 
			 1 September 2005 to March 31 2006 73.3 
			 2006-07 60.2 
			 2007-08 70.2 
			 2008-09 111.8 
			 2009-10 99.1 
			 2010-11 112.8 
			 Total 527.4 
			 Source: DWP Commercial Intelligence database.

Poverty: Children

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children were living in workless households in (a) March 1983 and (b) March 1991.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated June 2011
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been .asked to reply to your question asking how many children were living in workless households in (a) March 1983 and (b) March 1991 (60349).
	Labour Force Survey household datasets are available only from April-June 1997, so the requested information is not available.
	Published data on children in workless households can be found at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/work0910.pdf